It seems that Marvel has a lot of faith in the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as the filmmakers behind the latest MCU film already have ideas for sequels and the titular character’s future adventures in the wider MCU.
Shang-Chi is the first movie in the cinematic universe’s fourth phase to feature a new character in its title. Previous parts of Phase 4 have featured heroes that moviegoers are already familiar with from other outings. The film follows titular protagonist Shang-Chi, a talented martial artist who has been trained from a young age to take over leadership of the Ten Rings organization from his father, Wenwu. However, he rebels against this and moves away, only to be dragged back into the organization later on in life.
In pre-release interviews, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige said:
The early reactions to the characters and to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings itself gives me great hope that people will want to see more of these characters. We certainly have many ideas of where to take them and where to put them. And as exactly as you say, what’s so fun, we know the movie’s working when it’s not just the title character that people ask about, but it is the co-stars or the supporting players that people ask about. And in this movie, in particular, that’s heartening because we think they’re spectacular, and we think they have great potential in the future.
This sentiment is shared by Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of Shang-Chi. When asked about things that were left on the cutting room floor, cryptically replied, “There was one setting that we were not able to do in this movie, but I won’t say what it is because I really hope that we get to do it again in another film.”
It should be noted that only one MCU film has not received a direct sequel, and that was 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, so it seems unlikely that Marvel will decide to change tracks and not produce a second installment somewhere down the road. Especially as the character is going to play a major role in future projects.
“But, I think the end of this film gives a pretty clear direction on, at least, how vital and how important and how directly Shang-Chi is stepping into this world”, Feige continues, adding, “We are reminded of Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man 1, telling Tony Stark, ‘You’re part of a bigger universe, you just don’t know it yet.’ And without giving away, a very similar thing happens to Shang at the end of this movie.”
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings releases this month.